Wildfire Funds and Organizations
January 2025
How to Help Communities
Survive and Thrive after the Fires
How to Help Communities Survive and Thrive after the Fires
The range of the fires in Los Angeles has left few unscathed who lived or worked in their path. Liberty Hill strives to ensure collective care and justice, and that no community is overlooked or alone in the relief and recovery process. Because disasters can aggravate systemic injustices that have long persisted, we are supporting our communities to pursue equity, sustainability, and self-determination in the aftermath. Liberty Hill will work for all voices to be amplified in the re-building process. Our many years of funding community organizing for racial justice, housing justice, environmental justice, youth justice, and economic justice focuses our lens on emerging issues, such as:
• Preserving the generational wealth of Altadena's Black, immigrant and families of color, and ensuring their political voice
• Advocating for affordable housing, rent control, and tenant rights in the affected neighborhoods
• Environmental health and economic recovery for outdoor and informal workers
• Ensuring the just treatment of incarcerated workers on fire crews and the safety of incarcerated youth jailed in proximity
For Altadena, which is part of unincorporated LA County, community organizing can create channels to state and local leaders. For low-income renters, tenant organizing groups can help them access FEMA assistance, advocate for affordable housing, and be able to go home again. Advocates for system-impacted folks can save lives and protect the wellbeing of incarcerated youth and fire crews. Mutual aid networks and advocacy for environmental health & justice, access to PPE, worker opportunities, and the solidarity economy are key components of equity in this emergency. At present, immediate solidarity and urgent relief are top of mind, propelling the curated list that follows.
Solidarity Funds
We Are California
LA Unity & Solidarity Fund for Mutual Aid and Equitable Recovery
All donations support immediate needs resulting from the catastrophic fires in the region, and the ongoing direct organizing of impacted residents to fight for the recovery, health, safety, and housing needs in the community. The Movement Innovation Collaborative (aka We Are California) is redistributing all funds to power-building organizations on the ground in L.A. County which are providing frontline relief and will next fight to ensure LA re-builds equitably: Power California, California Calls, End Poverty in California, Catalyst California, WeAreCalifornia, AAPI Equity Alliance, CHIRLA, SCOPE LA, KIWA Workers for Justice, LAANE, and PICO California.
California Black Freedom Fund
Black LA Relief & Recovery Fund
The California Black Freedom Fund and California Community Foundation have partnered to launch the Black LA Relief & Recovery Fund. This Fund will support community organizations on the ground working to meet the immediate and long-term needs of Black communities displaced by the wildfires, addressing critical challenges and historic inequities so Black communities have the ability to return, reclaim, and rebuild in parity with other communities.
Inclusive Action for the City
Open Air Worker Relief Fund
Inclusive Action for the City has launched a special relief fund for workers in the “open air” economy such as street vendors, landscape workers, recyclers, and other neighbors who rely on working outside. This relief fund will provide $500 in direct cash assistance to outdoor workers who live or work in the fire areas. Over 4,000 applications have come in the first 5 days; more are expected. The fund’s goal is to raise $2.5 million for distribution by January 31, 2025.
Latino Community Foundation
California Wildfire Relief Fund
Contributions to this fund support Latino-led organizations responding to the immediate needs of Latino families impacted by the current wildfires across the state of California. Funding provides emergency food and financial assistance, rapid rehousing, and long-term recovery support to lowincome, undocumented, Latino and Indigenous workers and families. LCF issued a first round of $1 million in grants on January 14, 2025.
Mutual Aid LA Network
MALAN
Mutual Aid LA Network (MALAN) is a connector and information hub for mutual aid efforts, people and resources across Los Angeles. As a mutual aid network, MALAN uses its reach and funds to support smaller, local mutual aid efforts across the city that are doing direct, on-the-ground work. They also purchase survival supplies such as water, food, masks, hygiene supplies, and other essentials and distribute those directly to people across LA. MALAN is keeping an extensive frontline Fire & Wind Resource Library with many sources of mutual aid.
California Community Foundation
Wildfire Recovery Fund
CCF’s Wildfire Recovery Fund focuses on intermediate and long-term recovery needs that follow wildfires in California, with special efforts to serve the most disaster-vulnerable populations including the disabled, farmworkers and other migrant communities whose homes and employment are impacted by wildfires, Native American populations living on or proximate to impacted tribal lands, economically-disadvantaged populations, and specific impacted vulnerable populations whose lives have also been affected by structural racism which limit their practical ability to access disaster response, recovery and mitigation resources.
Fire Poppy Project
Support Renters Affected by the Eaton Fire (San Gabriel Valley)
Launched by 3 community organizers, Fire Poppy Project is an emergency response supporting renters who are Black, Indigenous, of color, and/or low-income whose homes were either burned down or contaminated by toxic smoke and ash in the Eaton Fire in Pasadena and Altadena. Funds raised support tenants whose expenses related to fire cleanup, moving, item replacement, and preparation for future fire-related emergencies are not covered by FEMA or renter's insurance. PPE and cleanup equipment purchased will be for the community, then donated after Eaton Fire cleanup to a local grassroots organization for future fire cleanup
Liberty Hill Grantee Partner Organizations
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
A.R.C. has created a Firefighter Fund to support the 800 incarcerated firefighters at work on the crews battling the multiple Los Angeles wildfires. Incarcerated firefighters make between $5.80 and $10.24 daily, and an additional $1 hourly while responding to emergencies.
Chinatown Coalition for Equitable Development
When Chinatown showed the highest level of fine particulate matter in LA during the fires, CCED LA launched mask distribution and then demonstrations to seek an eviction moratorium and rent freeze in LA County. CCED LA also runs a station for unhoused individuals to charge devices, receive masks, and access a health clinic.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
As the largest immigrant rights organization in California, CHIRLA launched its iRelief Fund, a cashassistance program to assist low-income families and undocumented individuals impacted by the recent wildfires and who do not qualify for FEMA or other federal disaster relief.
Essie Justice Group
Pasadena is a hub for the EJG sisterhood of women with incarcerated loved ones 100 local members lead local Healing to Advocacy cohorts. EJG’s director Gina Clayton-Thompson and her parents lost their homes and her children lost their school in Altadena. EJG has had to re-locate its Leadership Launch Day from its Pasadena office to Oakland, and seeks support for the emergency travel costs of the LA participants, to re-open the Pasadena office after clean-up, and to continue canvassing/support programs in affected areas.
IDEPSCA
Led by a team of women of color, the Southern California Institute of Popular Education organizes day laborers, housecleaners (Mujeres en Acción), and kitchen workers, and protects immigrant family health. IDEPSCA activated immediately at the onset of fires and since has been advising its members on safety, on negotiating evacuation and work with their employers, protecting from exposure to air pollutants, translating evacuation alerts, and mobilizing relief collection and distribution for 100 household workers.
National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)
NDLON is operating the Immigrant Fire Relief Fund to support the Pasadena Community Job Center to distribute food, water, N-95 masks, and other PPE to support the laborers and other low-wage workers who will be at the forefront of clean-up, recovery and rebuilding from this catastrophe.
Pasadenans Organizing for Progress
POP is working in coalition with organizations in the northern San Gabriel Valley region to respond to the on-going impacts of the wildfires in the Pasadena and Altadena region. This has included mutual aid efforts to provide direct assistance to residents within the region who are displaced, connecting them to necessary resources. They have been mobilizing their base to support distribution efforts and volunteer recruitment. As part of the Pasadena Affordable Housing Coalition they have been long-time advocates for tenant protections and rent stabilization, which will continue to be critical in the disaster recovery efforts.
SELAH Homeless Coalition
The Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Atwater Village, Hollywood Neighborhood Homeless Coalition is focused on providing N95 masks, water, hygiene kits, replacing smoky jackets and blankets, laundry funds, smog relief, and mutual aid to unhoused individuals, and volunteer and outreach opportunities to other community members.
Social Justice Learning Institute
SJLI and Housing Rights Center are providing detailed guidance about tenant and renters’ rights during the wildfire emergency. SJLI is also educating members about price gauging, housing discrimination, and accessing FEMA assistance during the disaster. With its Wildfire Response Fund, SJLI is caring for families impacted by the LA fires.
Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy
This Native-led organization by Eaton Canyon has suffered significant damage, with its garage and old stone house destroyed and parts of the landscape impacted. However, many of the beloved oak trees have survived, a testament to the strength of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practices that have nurtured the land. Updates coming for healing and re-building the Conservancy and surrounding areas.
TRUST South LA
This community land trust has distributed more than 150 air purifiers this week to residents in South LA affected by the hazardous air quality from the fires. They are also distributing anti-fog masks and goggles.
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Justice Coalition is raising Emergency Funds to directly support currently and formerly incarcerated youth and their parents who are impacted by the L.A. fires and systemic harm. At the onset of the fires, YJC, Sister Warriors, Young Women’s Freedom Center, Students Deserve and other partners organized an urgent campaign calling on elected officials for evacuation of the 96 youth held at Nidorf Juvenile Hall, 1.7 miles from Hurst fire and 3 miles from Archer fire.